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Part-timer brings his business north to grow Collingwood

People of Collingwood: Harley Valentine, artist and developer
2022-11-14pocharley
Harley Valentine, artist and developer, inside the former San Diego Restaurant building at 72 First St. in Collingwood, which is currently undergoing renovations to house artisanal pizza restaurant Bello Pizza. Valentine has purchased 70 and 72 First St. with long-term plans to create a larger development across the two sites.

He put down his sculpting tools and picked up a piece of the family business in a push to bring beauty to new development in South Georgian Bay and beyond.

For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood we spoke with Harley Valentine, 39, artist and developer.

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: I grew up in Grimsby, in Niagara.

Q: You’re a well-known artist primarily based in Toronto. Did you always know that you wanted to pursue a career as an artist?

A: I have a bit of an evolution through the arts. I studied art history at the University of Toronto. I went on to become a practising artist and sculptor in Toronto and internationally.

Out of that career, the next phase for what I saw as a logical next step was city building.

Now, I occupy most of my time working for Castlepoint Numa which is my family’s development and real estate company.

In Toronto, that’s high-rise transitory development. In places like Collingwood, it would be mid-rise development that would serve as rentals for multi-family use and condominiums.

Q: Can you talk about your transition from art to development?

A: I saw my skill set as an artist really translated easily into this concept of city building. We see underutilized sites and land that has a higher and better use, not dissimilar to having vision to elevate materials – whether it’s cultural forms or paint – into dynamic expressions of the imagination.

That is really my focus today – strictly development. For me, I saw it as a natural progression.

Q: Castlepoint is primarily based in Toronto development. You’ve purchased the land at 70 and 72 First St. in Collingwood. Is this going to be your first foray into development outside of Toronto?

A: Over the course of the pandemic, we started making strategic investments across Ontario, in Niagara, Collingwood and we were fortunate enough to acquire a 150-acre site in the Town of the Blue Mountains in Thornbury.

The next-generation move for our company is bringing city building and land pioneering that we’ve cultivated in Toronto and bringing that vision to both Collingwood and the Town of the Blue Mountains.

Q: What are your thoughts and vision for the 70 and 72 First St. lands?

A: When the land came to market, what was exciting for us was (figuring out) what the opportunity there could be.

Pine St. is incubating some really exciting retail... but it really dies at the corner of First St. because of the KFC and the Starbucks across the street which is wrapped in its own challenges with the drive-thru.

We could wrap some really exciting retail frontage around First and down Pine to extend that expression of downtown Collingwood.

Instead of chicken, would now stand a building and that building could be a beacon of a gateway and a dramatic sign of change.

Q: Are you moving up to Collingwood, or do you have plans to in the future?

A: We’re part-time residents. My wife and two young boys, and my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and my nephew are sort of weekend warriors. We decided to firmly plant our family’s identity based around the Collingwood/Blue Mountains lifestyle. That has become a fixture of our recreation.

Q: For how long has your family been coming to the area and did that impact your decision to want to invest here?

A: Absolutely. My wife’s family have been active weekend participants in Collingwood for the past 20 years. Her family own a townhouse there and that is our home base near downtown Collingwood. We have unpacked the incredible amenity of what it means to live in downtown Collingwood, from the walking trails to the grain terminals to the heritage core of Hurontario Street.

We want to build communities that really leverage that.

Q: Do you ever consider moving up to Collingwood full time?

A: Everyday. (laughs)

As far as an Ontario four-seasons lifestyle, I don’t think you can beat it.

I feel very blessed to have my part-time life up there as my schedule allows. Being active in the community is important to us as well, at Castlepoint. It’s not just about owning land, but also about working with community groups.

Q: Do you have any hobbies outside of work you’d like to talk about?

A: Family is front-and-centre for me. What’s great about Collingwood is the entry points on the recreation side. I like mountain biking with my boys, and hiking. We have a Laser sailboat that we sail around Georgian Bay. We ski at Georgian Peaks.

My pass times really reflect the wonderful features of the Blue Mountain lifestyle.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like people in Collingwood to know about you?

A: I’m sure they’ll know a lot more after this article. (laughs)

I’m excited to share my family’s vision for how we can continue to build on the great traditions of the Blue Mountain lifestyle and support the heritage core.

We’re passionate about our business.

For our feature People of Collingwood, we’ll be speaking with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way, letting them tell their own stories in their own words. This feature will run on CollingwoodToday every weekend. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].


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Jessica Owen

About the Author: Jessica Owen

Jessica Owen is an experienced journalist working for Village Media since 2018, primarily covering Collingwood and education.
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